Tamil Alphabet Chart & Quiz

Flashcard quiz

Score 0/0 · Streak 0 · Best 0

Which letter is this?

Glyphs and answer choices are picked locally in your browser with the Web Crypto API.

Tamil alphabet reference chart

The Tamil alphabet — the 12 vowels (uyireluttu) and the 18 consonants (meyyeluttu) in their standalone form, plus the āytham (ஃ) — with each letter's English name, glyph, and ISO 15919-style Latin romanization (e.g. Ka — க (ka)). The combined uyirmei syllables, dependent vowel signs (kāl/kombu diacritics), and Grantha letters are excluded so each entry maps to one glyph.

  • A (a)
  • Aa (ā)
  • I (i)
  • Ii (ī)
  • U (u)
  • Uu (ū)
  • E (e)
  • Ee (ē)
  • Ai (ai)
  • O (o)
  • Oo (ō)
  • Au (au)
  • Ka (ka)
  • Nga (ṅa)
  • Cha (ca)
  • Nya (ña)
  • Ta (retroflex) (ṭa)
  • Na (retroflex) (ṇa)
  • Ta (dental) (ta)
  • Na (dental) (na)
  • Pa (pa)
  • Ma (ma)
  • Ya (ya)
  • Ra (ra)
  • La (la)
  • Va (va)
  • Zha (ḻa)
  • La (retroflex) (ḷa)
  • Ra (alveolar) (ṟa)
  • Na (alveolar) (ṉa)
  • Aytham ()

Learn the Tamil alphabet

Tamil is written in the Tamil script, whose alphabet begins with the 12 vowels (uyireluttu, "soul letters"), from A (அ) to Au (ஔ), followed by the 18 consonants (meyyeluttu, "body letters"), Ka (க) to Na (ன), and the āytham (ஃ). This page pairs a full reference chart — name, glyph, and Latin romanization — with a self-scoring flashcard quiz so you can drill letter recognition. It is useful for anyone learning to read Tamil. Consonants are shown in their standalone form carrying the inherent vowel; combined syllables and vowel signs are left out so each card is a single glyph.

How the quiz works

Each round shows one Tamil glyph and four possible names. Pick the name you think matches; the quiz marks it right or wrong, reveals the correct answer with its romanization, and keeps a running score, current streak, and best streak for the session. Press Next letter for a new card or Reset score to start over. Every glyph and answer choice is selected with the Web Crypto API, entirely in your browser.

When to use it

Use this quiz to memorize the Tamil letters and their names, prepare for a Tamil course, review before an exam, or just test yourself. For a single random letter instead of a quiz, try the Random Tamil Letter generator.